Miller, Platt, Aubin help Pirates sink Bridgeport, 5-0

PORTLAND 5, BRIDGEPORT 0 Drew Miller and Geoff Platt each scored two goals and added an assist to lead Portland over visiting Bridgeport, 5-0, on Friday at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Miller provided all the offense the Pirates would need with a pair of first-period markers, and goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin made 23 saves for his second straight shutout.

Portland used a 21-6 advantage in shots to take a 3-0 lead after the first period. The Pirates outshot Bridgeport by a final margin of 37-23 and moved to 4-1-0-0 against the Sound Tigers this season. The teams will meet again on Saturday night.

Bruno St. Jacques also lit the lamp in the victory, his goal coming on the power play late in the first period. St. Jacques added a helper for a multiple-point night.

Aubin, who blanked Hartford last Sunday, has stopped all 61 shots sent his way over the past two games after dropping a 4-2 decision to Springfield in his Pirates debut.

The loss halted Bridgeport’s three-game winning streak.

HERSHEY 4, MANCHESTER 3 Hershey netted a trio of third-period goals to rally past host Manchester by a 4-3 count before 8,355 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena. It marked the teams’ first meeting since the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, won by the Bears in a four-game sweep.

Danny Syvret, Jay Beagle, and Kyle Wilson all scored in the third period for the Bears, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead. Wilson’s team-leading 22nd goal of the season at 16:09 was the game-winner.

Hershey’s Jason Morgan also scored, and goaltender Daren Machesney picked up the win with 28 saves. Hershey remains in fourth place in the East Division, one point back of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and four ahead of Bridgeport.

Marc-Andre Cliché notched a pair of goals for the Monarchs, and Kevin Westgarth also lit the lamp.

Rookies David Laliberte and Jonathan Matsumoto posted a goal and an assist apiece for the division-leading Phantoms, who have lost three straight games in regulation for just the second time all season.

SPRINGFIELD 4, LOWELL 2 Viacheslav Trukhno had a goal and an assist to help Springfield double up visiting Lowell, 4-2, at the MassMutual Center.

MANITOBA 2, HAMILTON 0 Manitoba rookie goaltender Cory Schneider made 24 saves for his fifth straight win and first professional shutout as the visiting Moose blanked Hamilton by a 2-0 final at Copps Coliseum.

SAN ANTONIO 3, ROCHESTER 2 San Antonio overcame a 2-0 deficit to post a 3-2 victory over visiting Rochester at the AT&T Center.

The Americans jumped to a quick 1-0 lead on Stefan Meyer’s 18th goal of the season just 1:06 after the opening face-off. Clarke MacArthur made it 2-0 at 7:22 of the second, scoring in his first game with Rochester since Jan. 4

San Antonio defenseman Dylan Reese notched his first career AHL marker later in the second period, pulling the Rampage within a goal.

Bill Thomas tallied the equalizer exactly ten minutes into the third stanza, and Matt Murley potted the eventual game-winner at 13:38. Both third-period goals came on the power play.

HOUSTON 1, HARTFORD 0 Houston’s stingy defense and winning ways continued with a 1-0 squeaker over visiting Hartford at the Toyota Center.

The Aeros captured their sixth straight win and have allowed only seven goals in that span, four of them coming in one game.

Goaltender Barry Brust made 23 saves, posting his third shutout in his last four starts. Brust has been between the pipes for all six games of Houston’s winning streak and shows a 1.13 GAA over the run.

Ryan Hamilton scored the game’s lone goal in the first period, his 10th marker of the campaign.

The Wolf Pack suffered their second consecutive shutout and third straight regulation loss, marking a season high.

IOWA 4, CHICAGO 3 (SO) Iowa rallied for a pair of late goals to tie the game and eventually prevailed in a shootout over host Chicago, 4-3, at the Allstate Arena.

With the Stars down 3-1, James Neal scored on the power play at 12:19 of the third, and B.J. Crombeen notched the equalizer with just 1:15 left in regulation.

Iowa’s Perttu Lindgren scored the lone shootout goal for either side. Stars goaltender Tobias Stephan denied all five Chicago tries after making 26 saves through regulation and overtime.

Joe Motzko scored his first goal as a member of the Wolves and now has a point in each of his first four games in a Chicago uniform (1-5-6).

Brett Sterling tallied his league-leading 32nd goal for the Wolves, and 2004 first-round draft pick Boris Valabik notched his first goal of the campaign.